Next Generation Travel hungry for more deals
EDUCATION travel specialist Next Generation Travel is on track for another strong year of growth and is looking for acquisitions.
The Blackpool-based group has grown sales in its schools division WST – which organises bespoke trips to destinations such as the First World War battlefields and La Louvre in Paris- from £600,000 in 2010 to around £5m.
Last autumn It moved into the university and further education sector with the purchase of Cambridgeshire-based FHT Group Travel, which it is building up with more staff, and it is in talks to buy further businesses.
Non-executive chairman David Craven, who previously built up and sold NST Holdings for more than £40m, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “We have an experienced. passionate team providing a tailored product to each school, and that is what is fueling our growth.
“I’m talking to two other businesses with a view to acquiring them, and I’m looking for more because the market is pretty fragmented. By the end of 2015 we should be at around £10m in turnover.
“We’ve grown year-on-year and we are hungry for more. Many of our rivals are selling packages to schools, rather than listening to what they want, and that is what makes us different. It’s easier second time around – there is a lot of knowledge in the senior team and we’re keen to use it.”
Since buying FHT, which organises trips for around 10,000 passengers a year – a number that is forecast to grow – NGT has doubled staff numbers to eight and invested in new premises.
